The United States and Israel, both set to face key polls that could change the fate of the existing governments in both the countries, have shifted their focus to Iran, yet again. Last week on a phone call, US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed the possibility of attacking Iran ahead of elections in both the countries, Axios reported citing two US officials, one Israeli official and a fourth source with knowledge of the matter.
The Israeli official said that Netanyahu was worried about intelligence that Jerusalem has received about Iran working on reconstituting its nuclear program. However, after the call, Trump said on Thursday last week that the US will not attack Iran ahead of the midterms slated for November.
However, militaries of both the countries continue to remain on alert and carry on preparations for the possibility of Trump changing his mind, Axios reported citing sources.
‘Bibi seems to want to go in again’
According to a US official, Netanyahu wants to resume the attack on Iran and brought it up with Trump, following which, the US President asked him to “be ready” but did not commit on a timeline.
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"Bibi seems to want to go in again. He has talked to the president about it a couple times, and the president has said, 'Well, you know, Bibi, go ahead and get ready.' But there's really no commitment. 'Go ahead and get ready' is maybe now, maybe later, maybe never," the report quoted the US official as saying.
{{/usCountry}}"Bibi seems to want to go in again. He has talked to the president about it a couple times, and the president has said, 'Well, you know, Bibi, go ahead and get ready.' But there's really no commitment. 'Go ahead and get ready' is maybe now, maybe later, maybe never," the report quoted the US official as saying.
{{/usCountry}}However, a White House official denied that both the state leaders discussed resuming war with Iran and while Netanyahu's office said that "the prime minister maintains regular contact with President Trump and senior U.S. administration officials and does not comment on the content of their conversations."
Trump’s back and forth
According to an Israeli official, when resuming the war was brought up to Trump initially, he seemed interested in the idea before growing hesitant. Confirming the dilemma that Trump is facing, a US official said that the US President has been going back and forth on the issue.
However, several senior US officials are backing the idea of attacking the war, including defense secretary Pete Hegseth and the leadership of US Central Command, said a source familiar with internal discussions. On the other hand, some of Trump’s advisers have sided with keeping up the sanctions instead of the war.
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‘Wartime prime minister’
If Israel goes ahead with attacking Iran, it could have a severe impact on the elections scheduled for later this month.
A US official said, "Bibi's got an election before the midterms. He believes his strength is being a wartime prime minister”.
However, Netanyahu claimed in front of his security and intelligence chiefs recently that it was not him but Trump who brought up hitting Iran before elections first, said an Israeli official.